It’s October! Eminem’s birthday was yesterday, and my birthday is this coming Monday! On top of that, this Kendrick Lamar album? Too sick. Full review will be up on the drop date (Monday), but you will not be disappointed. Sorry about last week, y’all. I’m sure all 7 of you noticed the absence. I’ve been pumpin away essays, columns, wrestling news reports, short stories, the works! The best thing I can do is practice my craft, and 411 is a place that allows that. I can only hope that you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing. With all that being said, let’s get to the hip hop of the world!!

Video of the Week
Kendrick Lamar – Swimming Pools

It’s not new, but it’s no less great!

– Drake has hit a milestone in his career recently. Reports claim that he has officially graduated college. The entire Degrassi cast was there to cheer him on.

– Kurupt came out to defend Snoop’s name change recently. Reports say that Kurupt will hereafter be known as Koala Kurupt.

– Lil Wayne’s first memoir gets a title and cover recently. It is said to be full of blank pages and purple stains.

– R. Kelly promises more Trapped in the Closet chapters. There’s really no joke here, just a question: why?

– In case you didn’t hate Lupe Fiasco and 90% of what he says, he recently claimed that asa child, he was visited by aliens. Cute, Lupe…real cute.

NELLY IN A DILEMMA

About a week ago, news broke that band-aid wearing rapper Nelly’s tour bus was pulled over and some shit was found on the bus that wasn’t exactly legal. According to reports, there was heroin, marijuana and a gun, loaded. It took a while, but Nelly spoke out about it claiming there were a few things that were noticed by the dogs that the cops had, but he assures that they weren’t his. In a somewhat cryptic comment, he claimed he couldn’t say whose the items were, but he can tell them whose they aren’t. Some claim this is a sign of a snitch while others think Nelly is just trying to protect himself. I’m really in neither camps.

First off, if you don’t know who you’re rollin with, then you’re an idiot. If you have a crew, a circle of friends, a “posse,” whatever, then you have to know WHICH of your friends has issue – if any. And if they do have a problem, such as heroin, you either help or you walk away. Now then, assuming that it was a part of Nelly’s crew, and not him personally, I’m sure he was aware of it. If he isn’t, then he has bigger issues. As for the stop, it is said to have been in the same place that stopped Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg and Fiona Apple. With that kind of track record, why would you have a loaded gun in the damned bus? When you think of violence and crazy rappers who spit on the name of criminal law, do you think of Nelly? Nelly, are you and your crew really that big of a threat (or being threatened) that you need a gun?
Maybe I don’t know the whole story. Maybe it was someone else, someone he hardly knew. If that’s the case, then Nelly needs a better structure. This shouldn’t happen to anyone, yet it continues to do so numerous times. You hear a story such as Snoop or Nelson’s, and it’s almost expected…I mean, they’re potheads. But Nelly?

MO MONEY MO PROBLEMS

Rather than throw everyone in the douche section, I thought I’d just talk about the rest of the news here. It appears that legal trouble is everywhere this week, with some people making stupid ass decisions with their life and money.

Scott Storch
Storch is a former Douche of the Week, so it should come as no surprise that he has, yet again, come in the line of fire of legal issues. From drug issues such as cocaine possession in Vegas, to ditching hotel bills, the man is a walking mess. It’s a shame, really, because the man has talent. Most recently, there are reports that he owes more than $20,000 in child support and has refused to go to court to explain why it has not been paid. I didn’t know home boy had kids, but the last thing I’m going to support is some dude not doin what he’s gotta do with the kids that he decided to put in this world. He better make another banger, and fast.

Tyga
So, young dude gets buckoo bucks and decides to live in a mansion in Florida that costs around $16,000 a month. That’s cool and all, but when said young dude doesn’t pay, shit goes down, and that’s apparently what’s happening to aspiring porn star and rapper, Tyga. There is now, officially, a lawsuit against both Tyga and his music company placed on him by his landlord who claims that, after three months, Tyga wanted to terminate the one year lease and the landlord refused. Now, I am well versed in California law, but not Florida. I assume it’s the same, though, and if it is, Tyga will most likely lose this and have to pay up.
Tyga has claims that the mansion was not safe due to lack of security and wanted to terminate the lease. This may be true, and it’s a shame if it is, but that I not grounds for breaking a lease, unless security was included. Nope, Tyga is gonna have to Make it Nasty just a little bit more, now.

Bow Wow
Apparently, Bow Wow bit off more than he could chew with a $300,000 business loan that he took out with SunWest Bank and has since defaulted on. More proof towards the claim is paperwork that saw Bow Wow’s Lamborghini repossessed to help pay towards the loan. Of course, one Lamborghini does not pay off a debt of that magnitude, so it is said that he still owes quite a bit. Moreover, he has another debt from a Ferrari that he stopped paying for, ranging in the $280,000 area. Finally, he has supposed back taxes from previous years.
The blame is sitting pretty on the former management team of Bow Wow and the “mishandling” on them. Although that may be fine and well, I can’t find myself blaming anyone BUT Bow Wow. Sure, he’s young, and the value of money may very well be lost on a 13 year old rich kid, but he hasn’t been a teenager for nearly 10 years and sooner or later, you have to take care of your own personal financials and the like.

Final Note
Each of these situations has obvious differences, what with drugs probably being the main issue for Storch, but for Tyga and Bow Wow, I can’t help but feel anything BUT sorry for them. Money mismanaging is something that a lot of us have an issue with, I’m sure. And the more money you make, the seemingly harder it is to keep control of it. I’ve long since suggested that anyone rich enough to do so, should hire a driver, security and an accountant. A driver, so you don’t Flo Rida your night and get pulled over with Henny in your system. Security, so you don’t have to worry about EVER getting into a scuffle of any sort. An accountant, so that money issues that it appears almost EVERYONE runs into never show up.

Your Turn: Are the money issues of hip hop artists that of the artist or the management team?

Toddy Tee – Batterram

Considering Kendrick Lamar is well on his way towards putting Compton back on the map, I figured I’d reach back into history and find a man who is much closer to me than I ever knew, or ever planned to know. The rarely heard name would become more widely known by me, personally, as his son became my school mate and, later, friend.

The emergence of hip hop in Los Angeles didn’t start too different from the way it started in New York. At the end of the day, it was about partying and getting down. What Los Angeles changed, however, was accentuating both the gang and drug life. One man who doesn’t get enough credit for the pioneering he did during the rise of hip hop in Los Angeles, particularly Compton, CA, is Toddy Tee. The man’s catalogue may be sparse, but true hip hop heads are well aware of songs such as “Batterram,” “Just Say No,” and “Gangster Boogie.” In many ways, Toddy Tee (along with the now deceased “Mix Master Spade”) is a template before people knew there would be a template to build off of. Just before “gangsta rap” became as such, songs just like above came around. Rich in its political message, while still having the funk-like beat that LA would soon be known for, the song is something that I remember hearing but never recall just WHO was behind it. Until Now.

That’s all for this week! Please stay tuned for a few surprises in the month of November. This is Tony. Deuces!!